Existing mechanisms for tracking and guiding vehicles lack sufficient reliability for use in certain real-world systems. For example, vehicle GPS (global positioning system) coordinates may not always be available, or may be intermittently available. Further, GPS coordinates do not provide context concerning a vehicle location or operation, such as information about surrounding roads, landmarks, traffic conditions, driver behavior, etc. Accordingly improvements are needed in the area of vehicle location and tracking. For example, better mechanisms are needed tracking vehicles that are stolen, driven by inexperienced drivers, being used for livery, etc. Further, mechanisms are needed for autonomous, semi-autonomous, and other visual/radar sensory safety systems. Mechanisms are also lacking for determining traffic light timing, and for guiding vehicles to minimize braking and improve fuel economy.